Chapter 11: Marrying a Husband Isn’t Cheap Either

Feng Mian was speechless.

Madam Zhang glared—this wicked stepmother really was something else. You could tell just from her disdainful attitude how badly this young man must have it at home.

What a mess.

The father and son stood there quietly, heads down, not daring to say a word despite Liang’s sharp tongue.

The matchmaker was the most embarrassed of all—after the matchmaking went like that, she still had to keep her temper in check and smooth things over.

“Well, this works too. Neither family’s rich, so not having a banquet saves some money. Save that money for you two newlyweds to live on, that’s better than anything,” the matchmaker said with practiced words.

Madam Zhang saw how troublesome Liang was. If it were her daughter getting married, she’d absolutely refuse.

As for taking a live-in son-in-law, the groom’s family didn’t need to be too demanding—as long as the guy was decent.

She liked this young man: tall, well-built, and handsome.

He looked humble and obedient, probably like his father—a man who wouldn’t dare say a word against his wife.

That was good—easy to manage.

“Mianmian, what do you think?” she asked.

Feng Mian said, “Grandma will attend my cousin’s wedding banquet at noon, then come to my place in the evening.”

“All right, that’ll be hard on you,” Liang said with a broad smile.

“Then it’s settled. Sister Xu, you’re the witness. You remember everything we just said, right?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve been in this line for years—never make mistakes on matters like this.”

“I trust you.”

At last, Liang’s eyes darted around the house, looking here and there. Seeing there was nothing to grab, she looked disappointed and called the father and son to leave.

Once out of the courtyard, she started cursing under her breath.

“What a pair of useless good-for-nothings, both father and son! Being a stepmother is so hard; the whole family depends on me alone…”

Her voice faded as she walked away. Madam Zhang huffed, “What kind of people are these? That stepmother doesn’t even try to hide it—she almost weighed that eldest son on a scale.”

Feng Mian was lost in thought. Earlier she had felt sorry for Gu Yuelin, but now, thinking it through, she realized that Gu Yuelin’s silence wasn’t weakness at all—he was playing dumb, secretly saving money, and perfectly aware of what was going on.

People like that wouldn’t just accept being looked down on as a live-in son-in-law.

He just wanted to use her to get away from that family.

As for Feng Mian herself, she didn’t really want to get married or bring a man home to carry on the family line.

She just wanted to get through these few tough years in the village, then later go to the city to do business—the good life was still ahead.

Gu Yuelin was an honest person, and she felt she could be honest too—find a chance to talk things over with him and write up a contract, making their marriage a business partnership.

Once they got through these hard times together, they could part ways amicably later.

Yes, that’s right. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed doable.

“Mianmian, are you listening?”

Feng Mian had been lost in thought and hadn’t paid attention to what Madam Zhang was saying.

“Grandma, say that again.”

Madam Zhang complained, “Ah, I’m talking about marriage matters here, and you’re daydreaming again?”

Feng Mian smiled awkwardly.

“That family’s no good for being a father or a stepmother, but that young man’s alright. Tall and strong, works hard. I checked for you—last year he was top of his family in everything, and he used to be in the army, so he’s got strength. The downside is he doesn’t talk much. His temperament’s just like his useless dad—can’t get a word out of him even if you beat him with three sticks. No backbone, so you can’t rely on him for big matters. But for a live-in son-in-law, that’s actually a plus—too many schemers and you won’t be able to handle them.”

Feng Mian nodded with a smile.

She thought: Does that woman really think there aren’t many schemers? If I hadn’t met him selling tickets, I’d believe it.

Madam Zhang said again, “He seems fine to me, but the money… Mianmian, tell grandma the truth—how much money did your mom leave you back then?”

“Not much, five hundred yuan.”

Madam Zhang did the math—three hundred for the dowry, a hundred and fifty for the cart, a hundred jin of grain, ten jin of pork, and two zhang of cloth tickets…

She gasped, “Ah, five hundred’s not enough.”

Feng Mian said, “I’ve saved a little myself over the years. Before, my aunt gave me fifty. That should be about right.”

“You said you want to start a business in the city? That’ll cost a lot.”

“I’ll think about it. If I can’t find a good price, I’ll just give them the money directly.”

“Just give the money? Don’t expect to bring anything back—that’d be a big loss,” Madam Zhang frowned.

Feng Mian thought for a moment and asked, “Grandma, how much did Sister Fengzheng’s family spend to get a live-in son-in-law?”

“They bought the son-in-law a bicycle and a wristwatch—those were special gifts just for him because they liked him. But he brought those things back, so it wasn’t a loss. They also bought a sewing machine for your sister Fengzheng to use. That money was spent, but it stayed in their own family.”

Their family was one of the top three wealthy families in Fengjia Village, so naturally they were generous.

“What else? What did they give your brother-in-law’s family?”

“On the day they took him in, they sent over a fat pig’s hind leg, bought a full set of clothes for the mother-in-law, and gave quite a bit of grain—I didn’t ask exactly, but it must have been over a hundred jin. I saw her dad carrying it on his shoulder.”

Feng Mian estimated roughly—a fat pig’s hind leg would weigh at least twenty jin, two zhang of cloth, and after making two sets of clothes there wouldn’t be much left.

But a hundred jin of grain was definitely a lot.

If that was the going rate for getting a son-in-law in Fengzheng’s family, then it was about right.

The trick was that Liang wanted to keep the money for the bicycle and wristwatch.

Madam Zhang sighed, “If you take him in, you’ll be penniless. How will you get through the year?”

“We’ll make it until spring next year. We can borrow grain from the production team then.”

Madam Zhang shook her head worriedly, but it was hard to find another stepmother in the surrounding villages, and she really liked this young man. Though it was expensive, it was still worth it.

“All right, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

At noon Feng Mian wanted to invite Madam Zhang to eat at her house, but no matter what, she refused. After finally getting her to come in to cook, she slipped away.

Feng Mian knew her grandmother understood how hard things were for her; skipping a meal saved money she could use elsewhere.

Feeling a little bad, Feng Mian thought for a moment, took out a bag of white sugar that the matchmaker had given her a few days ago, quickly ordered some tea leaves, and hurried after her.

Though Madam Zhang was over sixty, she was still quick on her feet. Feng Mian only caught up with her near Shangyu Village and finally stopped her.

“Ah, I said I’m not eating.”

Feng Mian shoved the two packages into her arms.

“Grandma, keep this sugar to dissolve in water, and the tea is for grandpa.”

Feng Mian knew grandpa liked tea, but ever since his leg injury, he had become a burden to the family and rarely got to enjoy tea.

Madam Zhang was surprised, “Where did you get such fancy things?”